Correct and she'd already appointed a woman Sec. of Treasury and Sec. of Homeland Security (among other positions)
Mrs. Clinton Goes to Washington
- Thread starter NickCT
- Start date
Correct and she'd already appointed a woman Sec. of Treasury and Sec. of Homeland Security (among other positions)
Before it's criticized...
...I truly believe Democrats could make gains in 2006. Iraq was clearly the #1 issue and Clinton proved she was prepared to handle the matter in a "bring 'em home" kind of way. With Republicans pushing back against her plan Americans sided with the Democrats - agreeing the War needed to end. Additionally on other issues such as the environment, energy, and the minimum wage: Clinton had made great strides in the right direction and had some respectable legislative accomplishments halfway through her first term - I don't think a small 2006 win for Democrats is unlikely...
...I truly believe Democrats could make gains in 2006. Iraq was clearly the #1 issue and Clinton proved she was prepared to handle the matter in a "bring 'em home" kind of way. With Republicans pushing back against her plan Americans sided with the Democrats - agreeing the War needed to end. Additionally on other issues such as the environment, energy, and the minimum wage: Clinton had made great strides in the right direction and had some respectable legislative accomplishments halfway through her first term - I don't think a small 2006 win for Democrats is unlikely...
2007
The Presidential Race began before President Clinton could report to the nation on the State of the Union. On January 4th Texas Governor Rick Perry became the first major contender for the GOP Primary to enter the Republican field. Perry’s southern charm appealed to many voters and he polled second behind Rudy Giuliani in potential matchups. Only three days later Mayor Giuliani made his own campaign official with a video released on his website. While the Republicans fought to unseat Clinton the President was more concerned about governing than campaigning. Her State of the Union Address would focus a great deal on the War in Iraq and the President was already working with party leaderships to bring all troops home by November 2009 – the timeline was longer than she’d hoped for and promised but Republican obstructionism had gotten in the way. When John McCain found out about Clinton’s proposed timetable he grew deeply concerned and announced his Presidential Campaign in New Hampshire. McCain had run eight years earlier and was hoping to use existing infrastructure to win big in 2008. On January 22nd the President delivered her third (and potentially final) State of the Union Address. The speech outlined, in great detail, her philosophy in regards to Iraq and she called on the newly-elected Congress to support her in “pushing politics aside to bring your young men and women home!” Her speech was sincere and commanding and guilted any Democrats on the fence into supporting their party leader. Only four days after her speech was over Senator George Allen of Virginia ended months (even years) of speculation by announcing he would indeed be a Presidential contender despite the fact that social conservatives like Perry and Huckabee were already in the race.
By February the field was pretty much set with Congressman Paul, Senator Dole, and Governor Romney rounding out the bottom of the pack. Polls showed Giuliani with a commanding lead but Perry and Allen were close on his tail. Immediately McCain faced trouble with his steadfast support for the Iraq War. Iowa was anyone’s game with Allen, Romney, and Perry fighting for victory in the state. Romney was second to Giuliani in New Hampshire as well with Senator McCain polling at a disappointing third. In the key state of South Carolina Perry held a 2.5% lead over Allen but once again Romney was close on their tails, hoping his money could buy him the election. In February Senator Lamont, who had developed a close personal relationship with the President, was given the honor of introducing the timetable into the Senate Hopper. Though there were rumors of a Republican filibuster, the bill passed the Senate in late-March on strictly partisan lines. It was time to take the fight to the House of Representatives. Speaker Hoyer was fighting fiercely to whip the Democrats into staying strong in support for the measure. At about this time some in the Pentagon advised the President to increase troop levels and end her plan for withdrawal saying it was necessary to stay in the fight, but Clinton refused, “I don’t want us to stay in the fight,” she replied. Her tough response was not greeted positively by a few members of the Pentagon who believed the casualties would pile-up in summer 2007.
By late-May the President had signed the timetable for withdrawal and the nation celebrated the beginning of the end with the first troops leaving in October 2007. While the President basked in the glory of one of her greatest legislative accomplishments, Republicans hit her as “weak” on the campaign trail, fighting out against the President’s stance on the war. Her harshest critic was John McCain who bolted to the front of the polls by using his support of the war to gather foreign policy hawks in the GOP. This left Perry and Allen scrambling to fight against the “political maverick” but also forced Giuliani deeper and deeper into the polls. McCain was more of a social conservative than Giuliani, but was moderate enough on other issues to appeal to Giuliani’s base. America’s mayor was quickly becoming America’s nobody. In their first debate in June, Congressman Paul attacked Giuliani for using 9/11 to his political advantage. Later in the debate Paul even suggested that the United States provoked 9/11 forcing Giuliani to respond with harsh criticism, as a result the altercation left Giuliani back in the front of the polls with Perry in second and McCain in third. McCain had built-up strong fundraising numbers from his surge in May and June and it was enough to begin producing mailers in New Hampshire and Iowa where he wanted to compete. A second debate in June went very poorly for Perry and significantly hurt his chances at the nomination with Senator Allen now positioning himself as the Conservatives’ choice. Allen took the lead in Iowa and South Carolina while Romney struggled to break free in the crowded field.
In August the President was briefed on the situation in Iraq. Each month was setting records in terms of casualties but it only proved to Hillary that she needed to be firm in getting the troops home. The increased focused on Iraq helped McCain who was determined to be the pro-War candidate. He promised not to forget the soldiers overseas and went as far as suggesting that the United States should increase troop levels in Iraq. However during one of the debates in August Senator Allen hit McCain on the issue saying, “If you’re so opposed to withdrawing our troops why didn’t you filibuster the timetable submitted by the Democrats?” McCain was quick to respond, “First off, George, I don’t remember you even showing-up to debate the bill, but I want to make it perfectly clear: I opposed the timetable. I voted against it and I spoke against it. However, I do oppose obstructionism as well and I do not believe there is anything constructive in filibustering the bill.” Experts gave the exchange to McCain who held his own against attacks from Senator Allen, but the debate did little to change the minds of Iowans where John McCain was in fourth place – behind Allen, Perry, and Romney. The only thing the debate did do was hurt Allen which finally provided Romney with his opportunity to be the conservative standard-bearer. McCain didn’t give up, after building-up leads in New Hampshire he fought hard in Iowa – even a third place finish would be impressive.
By October the troops were returning home and the President’s approval shot up to 52%. For the potential Republican Nominee it looked more like a suicide mission than a fair chance, which prompted Texas Governor Rick Perry to drop out of the campaign. It was now a close race between Romney, McCain, and Allen who wanted the win very badly. McCain’s time was running out and he was deeply concerned about the prospect of leaving Iraq. He told the country that if he won he’d deploy more troops in order to protect American interests. With the first troops arriving back in the states in October McCain’s message turned – he promised a new way forward in Iraq. When asked at a debate if he would have all troops home by the end of his first term he responded with a resounding, “No, but they’d be home by the middle of my second term.” The response was not received well and McCain’s numbers fell, even Republicans wanted the war to end sooner rather than later. Romney benefited from McCain’s gaffe and tried hard to take advantage of the malfunction. He campaigned with tremendous effort hoping to secure success in Iowa and New Hampshire, but in late-November it was Patti Solis Doyle who woke up Hillary Clinton. “Madame President,” she said, “you need to come to the Situation Room.” A U.S. Helicopter was shot down, killing 12 American soldiers. “How do you want to respond?” the Secretary of Defense asked. Clinton was confused as to what to do – we were already at war with them, this was an example of that. How else could they retaliate except staying at war? “Nothing. We stay the course in terms of withdrawal.” Her words were a low point of her time as Commander-in-Chief. McCain attacked the President for her lack of response and argued e would be the best Commander-in-Chief of the Republican field.
In December polls showed a close race in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but that would not be the number one headline. The President was told that the Housing Bubble had burst and it was time to do something about it – Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers were on the edge of economic collapse. The President proposed that the federal government assume control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and then bailout Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. The Federal Reserve went into action presenting Stearns with $30 million and Lehman Brothers with another $30 million. The country was panicking but unemployment had stayed somewhat low. The President had ordered the Fed to decrease interest rates in mid-2005 but that had led the bubble to pop earlier rather than later, something the President had not expected. McCain and Romney supported the bailouts while Allen took a hard tone against them. The DOW fell substantially but some argued it could’ve been worse had the President and the Federal Reserve not taken immediate action. The banking industry was imploding and things were spiraling out of control. On January 3rd George Allen won the Republican Caucus in Iowa. On January 5th the DOW dropped 550 points – the President offered Congress a stimulus package which consisted of bailing out remaining companies and banks on the edge of collapse (such as AIG) and with an infrastructure project which could supply unemployed Americans with temporary work – she also proposed to extend unemployment insurance to 69 weeks, the bill did state that in 2013 the unemployment insurance would only last for 50 weeks. The President fought hard to pass the stimulus package and the day before her State of the Union she was able to sign it into law – Congress had worked extraordinarily fast as President Clinton fought to keep the economy from completely dying.
Cool.
We provoked 9/11? Ron Paul, you are going down politically for sayin something so stupid.
We provoked 9/11? Ron Paul, you are going down politically for sayin something so stupid.
Hopefully this won't derail the thread, but 9/11 was blowback. Am I saying that it was the right thing to do? No, it was a horrible act of political terrorism, but it's foolish to think that our foreign policy didn't in large part provoke it.
Our foreign policy was a large factor yes.
Ron Paul's not even a Republican.
I'm iether for Romney or Rudy what his name.
Ron Paul's not even a Republican.
I'm iether for Romney or Rudy what his name.